The PlayStation 4 is Real

Aside from my raging disregard for freaking polygons, I'm kind of excited about the PlayStation 4.  Let me tell you why:

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I didn't know that I wanted to do this.  I didn't know myself to be a slightly vain person who wanted to instantly share their awesome(read: terrible) game play with the world, but I AM.  I can instantly stream my super awesome Mortal Kombat X: The Reckoning videos with everyone I know and then put it on Twitter?  I'm in, instantly(quite literally).

More exciting than the superficial "look what I can do" opportunities are what developers can do with this for  potential matchmaking opportunities.  Imagine a group of people watching a best of 3 fighting game or a 3 lap circuit waiting in the wings to take on the winner or top 3.  Granted, this is not so different from things available on PC, but the divide is getting narrower and I want to embrace it as it comes.

Download And Play?

Yes, yes, I know that this is a feature held by hundreds of PC games.  I understand that it isn't anything new, but it's such a great feature for a console generation that is guiding us slowly, but surely, to digital media.

Me: "Man, that game got great reviews and is right up my ally for style, I want to play it, NOW"

PS4: "Ok"

Me: "I'm not joking... NOW"

PS4: "Ok"

Simple, I know, but it's a world of difference for my time crunch.  Also: demos.  I hate waiting for Demos.  Now, I don't have to.

Getting Vita in the Game

I've had absolutely no reason to get a PS Vita.  None.  I don't regret not having one and I don't feel the need to get one... Until PlayStation 4 lets me play it's games on a Vita.  I've already sold my soul to Nintendo's Wii U(Also a decision I stand by), so why wouldn't I be excited for another system employing the same methodology and(for me) world changing control schemes.  Asymmetric game play is what I want all the time for now and forever.

What I Miss

PlayStation 2.  That's the last Sony game system I've owned and it was arguably the greatest game system I've owned.  I believe that Sony can deliver that again.  I believe that in their misguided search for poly-mega-flopagons, they create a sandbox for developers to make some of the most beautiful and rich games on the market.  I hope they do it again.

Am I upset that they don't have backwards compatibility right now? Yes.  Do I think that 90% of what was said during the announcement was graphical nonsense? Yes, but at the heart of the matter, this is a console on which some of my favorite medium's great games are going to be built.  I can't help but be excited for the prospect.  No matter my allegiance, I want great games.

There are other things to be excited about, but nothing rang true like these bullets did.  In the meantime, I have some Scribblenauts to play.  

ZombieU: When It Makes Me Start Again

If you haven't played ZombieU on Nintendo's Newest Console just yet, I really don't want to spoil anything, but try to not die.  This may seem like pretty obvious advice when it comes to video games and life in general, but this game is a little different.

When you play Call of Duty or Halo or Resident Evil or Gears of War of any number shooter/survival games, you die... a lot.  In fact, players die so much so that many of these games keep a running kill/death ratio as a mark for how good you are and the ratios are never high.  I don't play a lot of Call of Duty, but I don't think my Kill/Death is much higher than 0.  Then again, I'm awful at it.

In ZombieU, however.  My Ratio is much higher.  It isn't because I'm better at this shooter than others.  It isn't because the game is easier, though it does have a more forgiving learning curve than jumping into an online multiplayer match.  But the reason my K/D is so high in ZombieU, is that I'm afraid to die.

Wrap your head around that.  When were you ever afraid to die in an online shooter except for when your team is one kill from losing?  And even then, the kills happen so fast that it's hard to tell how many kills any team needs at any given time.  These other games are based on the desire to jump right back into the action after a death, essentially making death, not meaningless, but without punishment.

When I die in ZombieU(all 12 times), I start over with 6 bullets for my pistol and a cricket bat.  Yes, I can store up materials in a chest that carries over from survivor to survivor.  I can even hunt down my previous survivor(now zombie) and kill them to loot their body, but every time, I wake up on a bunk in my safe house with minimal supplies and even less hope.

I'd love to say that it gets easier.  But I'm 7 hours in and every time I get comfortable or confident, something awful goes wrong.  Sometimes the undead attack my safe house.  Other times I take a hasty step forward and find a room full of awoken, angry zombies.  Every decision I make has instant and very measurable consequences as the time survived, K/D, and other statistics fade from the screen after a death.

This game isn't for everyone and it's probably better for it.  I hope you give it a shot.  I hope you get to feel the same fear and panic I have felt.  Mostly, I hope you don't die.

And The Winner Is...

Me.

I'm the winner.  When Nintendo branches off and does their own thing, I am the beneficiary of the experiment.  I get to experience game types, styles and ideas of which I've only dreamed.  All because Nintendo refuses to do what the economy, strategists, and competitors tell them to do.

I've owned my WiiU for 4 days and only played 2 games on it and I'm already convinced that it is the system for me.  How can I possibly know this soon?  How are 2 games and several hours anywhere near enough time to make a judgement call on a system that, admittedly, has many bugs and kinks to work out in the coming months?  3 Words: New Gaming Experiences.

Lets take a look at what new things I've done on my WiiU in the last 4 days.

1. Local Multiplayer with a twist.  The Multiplayer suite of ZombieU is far from impressive.  5 Maps, 3 game modes and limited number of weapons with no customization should add up to a mediocre experience.  And the hook brings me back: Because of the separate handheld screen and asymmetric(different for 2 players playing the same game) style, I get to test the mettle of my nephew's first person shooter skills by throwing zombies of multiple types and styles at him in a poor-man's RTS manor.  I get to see him backing up into the strategically placed sleeper that will jump him when he gets close enough.  I get to take control of the survivor and let him throw zombies at me.  Simply put: I can't do this anywhere else.  Therefore, I will do it on my WiiU and laugh out loud every time my spitter covers my opponent in zombie-pus

2. A Sandbox I want to play in.  I've played Scribblenauts on the DS.  I played Super Scribblenauts on the DS, but now I've played Scribblenauts Unlimited on the WiiU and I can't go back.  The puzzles are entertaining and appropriately silly(Yes, this fireman can build a mech for you to fight off the zombie horde), but the strength is in the more, bigger, best mentality of these items.  Each item is liberated by the adjectives introduced in Super Scribblenauts, but now, I can take those items and make them my own.  I can literally make them my own.  I summon them to my item editor, change every characteristic imaginable, give it a new name and it is now mine, my own, my precious.  It is without a doubt the best item editor any console has ever seen.  I don't know why I would want a stick that grant's me invisibility and shoots grenades that don't explode, but that isn't the point.  The point is that I can make it and it's mine.

3.  Investing in the Community.  You won't find me on forums or comment sections or chat rooms about games.  This may be to my detriment.  I'm not much for the anonymity of the internet.  On the WiiU, however, I found myself commenting on people posts. I reached out to people asking for help.  I found people with similar thought processes and taste in games and I friended them out of the blue.  There is something about the way that Nintendo set out to integrate the Miiverse into the game experience and into the DNA of the WiiU itself that makes me want to contribute.  Add in the fact that their filtering software and community driven tools for reporting poor behavior not just work, but work well, and I'm in a community of gamers that I'm not ashamed to introduce my family to.  It's a brand new world of interaction for me in a gaming community.

4.  The Controller is Enough.  This is a silly, stupid,  mediocre feature that really shouldn't be mentioned, except for how amazing it is.  "Hey, can you turn that down?  We can hear those brains exploding in the kitchen!"  "Yeah, sure."  We've all had that conversation before, but now, turning down the volume requires no additional effort or searching for remotes or reaching for the "right" remote.  The WiiU Gamepad is the right remote, for the TV and cable box.  This isn't about me being lazy; this is about Nintendo wanting their console to be a part of every interaction the living room and I commend them for it.  No, this isn't some amazing new and crazy feature and no, it won't revolutionize gaming, but I love changing the input to the Blu Ray player for my wife when I want to make more hover tanks that shoot exploding sheep on my Gamepad.

The WiiU is far from perfect.  The load times between standard menu selections are a little ridiculous.  The friend system isn't quite as intuitive as it should be in Fall of 2012.  There isn't a "Halo" or "God of War" to drive sales yet.  There is, however, a strong pulse and piles of creativity in Nintendo's WiiU.

Pre Ordered

I pre ordered a Wii U.

This wasn't a surprise.  I meant to.  When I saw the tablet controller and HD graphics I wanted it sometime after launch. When they promised I could keep my Downloaded games from Wii Ware and Virtual Console, I was ready to line up.  When they said I could play New Super Mario Bros. U on the tablet by itself while other people do unimportant things on the television, I started saving my money.

Thanks Nintendo

Then Nintendo Direct happened.  I was already on Nintendo's side, what more could they offer to the guy who just wanted to give them my money already?

Well, I'll tell you... and what they gave me wasn't all directly from Nintendo...

I reach the counter, tell the owner that I want to pre order the Wii U.  He then hands me two lists: one, a list of hardware that can be pre ordered and then a list of games that can be pre ordered.  He looked down at them and he stops me: "Wait, I need to print the updated copies."

It was in this moment that I saw the entire, announced, launch game list.  There were some twenty five to thirty games here.  New Super Mario Bros. U, Scribblenauts, ZombieU, Aliens: Colonial Marines, The Wonderful 101 and on.  There were some third party cash grabs in there, but when isn't there?  There were some ports of Xbox and PlayStation games, but who cares?  I think back to the Wii's launch and I'm suddenly jealous in the past of my future self while I waited in line waiting for the Wii to get the console and my copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; only Twilight Princess...  This time, when I wait in line for a Nintendo Console, I won't have to be getting one game... I can get several.

The third party support of Wii U is outstanding so far.  Granted, I haven't gotten my hands on any of these things, but it's there.  People are showing up with games for a system that a lot of people have written off.  Oh, and I get a Mario game at launch...

Besides launch titles, the online integration at Nintendo Direct, stunned me.  I expected Hulu and Netflix, but Amazon and TiVo?  IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes?  Interactive quizzes during shows?  Friend's shared playlists to look over for ideas on what to watch?  Sports score updates?  What is happening?  Suddenly the dream to have Nintendo's little white box as the center of living room entertainment isn't so crazy, but it's the Wii U... not the Wii.

Then, as if it was thrown in, Nintendo mentions briefly that pretty much all memory solutions are supported by the Wii U.  Not as a stylistic choice, but because memory is getting cheaper and they want to offer us an option.  Then they tease Bayonetta 2, exclusively.  Then they seal the deal: $300 for white, $350 for black and a hard drive.

I get an email within minutes of the conference ending: "Gamestop is now accepting pre orders for the Wii U"... yeah they are...

Battlefield 3 and the Perils of an Open Beta

I am of the opinion that public or at least a large private multiplayer beta testing is border line required for the successful launch of a multiplayer game.  Now the definition of a successful launch is far from objective, but to me a successful launch does not include heavy tweaking to balance issues, reworking crashed servers, and a host of launch bugs that make the online experience more trouble than it is worth.  The high traffic with a huge cross section of people playing in public betas is a great opportunity for developers to learn and tweak before a games launch.

The Battlefield 3 Beta has been supremely effective at nailing down the necessary data for their designated servers.  What it hasn't done so well is advertise for the upcoming blockbuster.  I get the feeling from the blazing internet that people are unhappy with the performance issues in the Battlefield 3 Beta.  That may have been an understatement.  I've read about 10 blogs and articles concerning the issues(graphics, glitches, and host connection issues) and most of them seem to think that the upcoming entry into an established franchise is going to be complete rubbish based on this beta.  People are citing cancelled pre-orders and disappearing vehicles as proof that this game doesn't have what it takes to be a great game.

I'm not quite as militant, mainly because I didn't experience the same issues.  I played for about 4 hours and was booted from a game once, and never experienced any of the vehicle glitches.  The graphics were obviously rough around the edges(the character models weren't as crisp as I've seen in preview videos and there were some textures that popped in a little late, nothing life altering) and some of the animations seemed a little twitchy.  On the whole, however, I really enjoyed my time with Battlefield 3.  Rush Mode was as compelling as always, the ebb and flow of combat as attackers gained ground or the defenders pushed back felt good, and, even though I was on an XBox 360, I enjoyed the number of players in the matches.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the much larger battles of the PC arena, but my PC was occupied at the time so I'll take what I can get.

There was a time that if a game was plagued with issues at release, it was dead in the water, but now with patches and updates, a lot of issues can be solved post release.  I don't think that this is a bad thing.  I'm glad that developers have the opportunity to rectify issues with their games post release, but it is a little irritating when the first impression isn't up to par and patches take time to prepare and release.  During that time, I just spent money on a product that is far from satisfactory.

I'm glad that DICE decided to run the beta.  This gives them the chance to prepare their servers, maybe tweak a little balance, and iron out any bugs that occur when their systems are stressed by high levels of traffic.  I would rather a developer let me try their game for free to help them solve issues than to fix them post launch, post payment received.  At the same time, I hate the bad press Battlefield 3 is getting because they gave us a free opportunity to try their game.

I'm a Litte Bit Casual and I'm a Little Bit Hardcore

The battle lines of the internet are amazing. I used to get really angry when I would read posts or comments about how the Wii is only for kids and casual gamers and how hardcore gamers have to play certain types of games. Even though the two aren't mutually exclusive, there is a line between graphics that push the boundaries between life and game and graphics that push the given hardware to it's limits while maintaining the stylized aesthetic of the game world. Even though the two aren't opposed to each other, people like to pit games with bright flashy colors against games with more neutral palettes. Games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 facing off against Resistance 3... sounds pretty silly when I put it like that, but it is silly.

I own an Xbox 360 and Wii. In less than a year I intend on owning a Wii U. I play every genre of game imaginable; From Need for Speed to Marvel vs Capcom, Terraria to NBA Jam, Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Halo, Final Fantasy to Boom Blox, I play them all. Not all regularly, but they all make their way into my lineup of games. I've mentioned my lineup before. I like to have a little something for everyone. It makes me a better gamer and makes my house more hospitable to non gamers. It allows me to trick people into doing what I want to do, whether it be watch everyone play Dance Central(though I'm pretty good myself), work as a team in a 4 player co-op like Castle Crashers or New Super Mario Bros Wii, or pwn everyone in a pick up and play competitive game like Driift Mania(yeah, with 2 i's), Geometry Wars, or Tetris Party.

By any definition I can not be denied entrance to the "hardcore" camp of gamers, but at the same time I embrace the lighter, "casual" fare that existed just fine before Wii, but now has a place to call home. Sometimes I don't want to put that perfectly thrown grenade in the throat of another player; sometimes I don't want to grind to level 50 so that I can finally unlock that awesome piece of armor; sometimes I don't want to play a nerve racking round of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX; sometimes I just want to kick back and let my friends into my World of Goo or wrap myself up in Kirby's Epic Yarn. I'm not any less of a gamer because of my varied. I'm just a little be Casual and a little bit Hardcore.

Fighting Games: A Legacy

My first fighting game was Street Fighter II on Game Boy. Needless to say, some of the nuances of the genre were lost on a 5 year old, but even then, the importance of not letting your opponent hit back was more than clear. Juggling, ranged attacks, spacial awareness, memorization, adaptation, improvisational combos would all come to pass as I grew in age and wisdom.

Following Street Fighter II, I actually didn't really get into a fighting game again until Super Smash Bros. While it isn't a typical fighting game, the keys were there. While it didn't use the same skill set at Street Fighter, it still embodies all that makes fighting games great on a competitive level. Followed up by Melee and Brawl, I couldn't help but love the style of this fighting game.

After Melee, I was dragged into a new gaming scene: Tekken 5. The Jump into 3D was a fair shock. Now I can avoid those pesky ranged attacks by a simple side step! At the end of the day, however I was never as drawn into the 3D fighting as I was the 2D. There are probably several reasons, the main one being simply preference. I have nothing against the gameplay at all. The combos were just as satisfying and the combat just as smooth, I just prefer the 2D.

Since Tekken 5, fighting games disappeared from my typical lineup. I like to have a solid rotation of multiple genres in my gaming. I think it is good to have a lengthy RPG to be working through, one or two local multiplayer games for parties and game nights, one or two online multiplayer games for when I don't have anyone around, and then a platformer. Now fighters can fall into both of the multiplayer styles, but for whatever reason, I had games in those voids but no fighting games.

Well all that to say, I've returned to form with fighting games. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 currently resides in my Xbox 360. I love it. All the twitch of Street Fighter II, 2D visuals, and enough depth that I'll never run out of things to learn(unless I go on a binge, let's hope I don't do that again...) I can't keep up online, but I enjoy the single player arcade and I have a couple friends who love to play. It's good to be back.

The Metroid Prime Trilogy: A First Person Shooter... Kind of...

So I'm playing through the Metroid Prime Trilogy. The first two of the set were released on GameCube a few years ago and the final was released on Wii about a year and a half maybe 2 years ago. They then updated the graphics from the first two games, implemented Wii controls and released the whole trilogy, all three games, for $50... I then found it on sale at Target for $30 and had to have it... seriously? Three games from one of my favorite titles(Metroid) for $30? All I'm saying is that it's an awesome deal.

So I don't know how much you know about Metroid Prime. Metroid started as a Side Scrolling puzzle platformer on NES. The defining game in the series was a similar style game on SNES: "Super Metroid". Then after the N64 on the GameCube, Metroid was changed from a 2-D platformer into a 3-D First person shooter: "Metroid Prime".

There's the brief history for you. I've played the first and the third games and I'm really looking forward to playing the second one. But I'm troubled by a few things: while it is a FPS, it isn't like any other FPS I've ever played. The game is all about solidarity, being alone. The soundtrack, the level designs, the details, everything identifies you as this person who is very, very alone. Other FPS(i.e. Halo, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor) are all about the giant battles, the combat, being a one man army. Not this game; it finds success in forcing the player to be alone and to solve these puzzles not knowing when a flood of enemies will jump out at you(and they do jump out at you... very creepy)

The funny thing to me is that even though FPS, First Person Shooter, is really only a description of the camera angle and what kind of weapons you have, still that label: FPS, means a lot more than that. I hear about a game being a First Person Shooter and instantly I imagine a war game. I imagine the big explosions and fighting along side other people. When I hear FPS, I don't think about anything that describes Metroid Prime except for the fact that I see through the character's eyes and use a gun.

Anyway, I'm loving the games, it's actually got a pretty cool local multiplayer if we ever get a chance.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Is It Really That New?

Rachel and I just played through New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Awesome game. No doubt in my mind that it is the best 2-D Mario game to come out... maybe ever. Ultimately it is the same game that I've been playing since I was 4 years old, but... bigger, more forgiving, multiplayer, and implements some really cool platforming puzzles.

So coolest thing about this game is that up to four people can play at the same time, it gets a little hectic, but it so much fun. The best thing about four people being able to play is that just about everyone who's ever played a video game knows how to play this game, it's just like the old game. Objective: save princess. How do we save her? Find Bowser and beat him. Where is Bowser? I don't know, just keep running to the right and we'll find him eventually. Simple, difficult, but so much fun.

I really have few complaints about the game. Some people were upset that it didn't really reinvent 2-D platforming. They said it was too much like the old games. To me, that is this game's greatest strength. I love that Dean and Debra(in laws) played this with me. I love that even Gwendolyn(sister-in-law) played; even Isaiah(4 year old) was able to pick it up and play along. It was kind of funny, they all started by asking: "How do I play? What do I do?" until they realized that this was no different than the game they had played before.

Now, this isn't all to say that all these people can play the game so it is too easy. Don't get me wrong, there are some platforming challenges in this game that make me nervous. I died a bunch, I had to practice and try new things. Then after the main levels just trying to survive, there are three giant star coins per level that you have to find to unlock the final 9th world and that's after there are around 6-8 levels in the first 8 worlds. All that to say, it's a long, moderately difficult game.

So to answer the first question: Is it really that new? No, but that's it's best quality to me.